Disciple Bizarre!
Ch. 42 - Kampung Hantu 6

(POV Kihara Lullin (Tsuruga Saori)

3 Years ago (2020)

Fifty years I spent in a ghost village without feeling it. Most of the time I spent playing and practicing Shogi with the residents there.

My age is not increasing. Fifty years on, my face is still the same as it was in 1970. My mindset does not then become mature or like grandmothers. I feel like I'm 12 years old even though I've been through that long.

Maybe because I didn't get married like most of the people there. Not having a partner, not drinking alcohol, nor having sex.

I was the youngest in the village. Younger than a 30-year-old man who came in 2000.

My mind did become more critical, but it did not necessarily remove my childish nature. My mental state is still in line with my age.

"Ruri-san, it's 2020 now, right? I can already go out, right?" I pulled his sleeve.

"Yes, you can already go out, Saori."

"Help me enroll in a new school, will you?"

"Yes." Yeah."

"Where will I live? Should I go back and forth to school - ghost village?"

"I've rented you a cheap apartment."

"really? Yatta!"

Ruri-san is the woman who might be my mother's replacement during her time in the ghost village. He always serves me, and helps me whenever I want.

He was able to leave in 1980. Since then, I have been stuffing various things on her. Minimip shogi books, shogi boards, as well as tapes of shogi matches.

Ruri-san used to tell me how the world was going when she went out. About Japanese songs that are hits, famous artists, the development of sophisticated tools, also often become people who buy manga magazines, and become a snatch of friends. We had to take turns reading it.

When I first met in the ghost village, Ruri-san still looked very young. He said he was 20.

Now, in the year 2020, Ruri-san said that her age might have touched the number 30. And has changed its name a dozen times and moved around the workplace.

It's weird if you meet a 20-year-old girl in 1980, but still look young in 2020?

"Saori, you should change your name when you're out. It would be troublesome if your relatives were still alive, and saw you who are still as young as you are now."

"Yes, I'm gonna change my name and my marg, but what, yeah...."

"Kihara. You'll be my son in the outside world. The process of making his family card will not be bothered. You'll be my adopted son. How's it?"

"Can."

"good. In that case, from now on your name is Kihara Lullin!"

"Eh? Lullin's? What kind of strange name is that? Is that a Japanese name?"

"Hahaha, it's okay. Let it be similar to my name, Kihara Ruri. Okay?"

"Heee, isn't it more like my name is Rori or Riri?"

"I prefer Lullin, your name is Lullin!"

"If Rui how?"

"Willful!"

"Eeehhh, yeah."

I began to set foot in the world again after fifty years. I got off in Tokyo, far away from my old home, Osaka.

Heart's pounding. The world has changed so much compared to when I was a kid. Ruri-san says the world is becoming more sophisticated and electronic, but I didn't expect it to be this drastic. I feel like I am in a very advanced future.

I remember my family. Are mom and dad still alive? How old is Shiori now? Is he married to Yamada?

After I calculated, Shiori's lifespan now was 60 years. He was born in 1960, and it is now 2020. If she was still alive, Shiori was now a grandmother.

I shook my head. Trying not to remember my family anymore. I want to start a new life as a Junior High School student again.

We arrived at a simple apartment. Although it is said to be simple, but still good in my opinion. At least this apartment is more modern than where I used to live.

"Saori. ah no, Lullin. You seriously want to continue living in this world?"

I'm nodding.

"I feel sorry to go to that village. I want to live in this world, and die in this world. Although there will be much suffering, I will not run to that village again."

Ruri-san smiled.

"Oh, yeah. Yeah, it's okay, but I probably won't be in this apartment very often. I don't want my age to continue to grow. My husband will get angry if I get older, hahaha."

"I will go to school until graduation, get a decent job, after that change all the fees you give, Ruri-san. I promise!"

Ruri-san rubbed my head.

"Not to worry about the cost. I told you, you're my adopted son now, Lullin. Just focus on school, no need to think about costs. Okay?"

I'm nodding.

"Once again, I'll rarely be here. I would just stop by occasionally to send money and so on. If there is a need, just follow me to the ghost village. Okay?"

"Call me Mama."

"Yes, Mama."

Since then, I have been living again in the world, becoming a new person named Kihara Lullin who started the beginning line of her life in junior high school.

I thought things would go well, but it turned out that my nail-piercing nature had re-emerged, even worse.

I'm more shy than ever. People talk about things I don't understand.

Online games, streaming, VTuber, FPS, a lot of unfamiliar terms sounded in my ears. I can't follow their conversation.

"Kihara don't know email?"

"Browsing doesn't know either, hahaha."

"He's a kampung kali."

"Eh, the villagers just know, you know."

"Kihara is like the old people, yes."

If I think about it, I am indeed an ancient person. I should have been a grandmother. The students my age in class are the ones who should be the same age as my grandchildren. I was fifty years older than them even though we were twelve.

Knowing that, I became a poor man. I feel awkward. I don't feel right with them. I'm a stranger to humans. Stranger on the goods of today. I felt alone even though people were wandering around me.

In the end, my Junior High became more bleak than my Junior High. I have no friends, and I have the title of the strangest student of the generation.

I want to escape. Back to running from reality. Go to the ghost village, and live comfortably.

But, I made a promise to Ruri-san. Whatever happens, I won't run away. I will survive in this world no matter how hard the problem hits.

Therefore, I kept on surviving. I am trying hard to study the world today. Pursue the lag of information for the past fifty years.

I have given up on my Junior High, and bet on High School with the myriad of modern knowledge I have gained.

However, even so, even though I was able to follow the development of modern technology to the most updated stage, I still became a very shy child when entering High School.

***

At High School, I was surprised to meet a student named Akemi. He looks a bit like my brother. I almost called him Shiori.

When I found out she was from Osaka, my guess was getting there. Akemi is probably the granddaughter of my younger sister, Shiori. But I don't want to accept that fact. I kept silent and never asked about Shiori to Akemi.

When the UTS results were announced, my faith grew even more. The girl with this level of intelligence reminded me of Shiori. The face is similar, the intelligence is the same. Akemi is becoming more and more similar to the Shiori I know. Akemi is quieter, in contrast to the highly active Shiori.

The student I was most afraid of in class was Shino. He once quietly stood behind me while I was thinking about Ruri-san who was living in the ghost village.

Just then, I panicked, I was afraid that Shino knew my true identity.

Shino.

"Are... Why can't I read your mind?"

I immediately breathed a sigh of relief.

"The elephant elephant elephant.." I thought.

"Now you're thinking of elephants, but why was your previous thought unreadable, huh?"

"Mu-maybe your curse can't read the deepest secret. The secret that most people don't want to know."

Shino nodded.

"Ah, it seems so. Sometimes I can't read the kids' minds. I see, so yes. So the matter of Erza masturbating while thinking about me is not her deepest secret, huh. I understand now."

"Eh...." I heard something I shouldn't have heard.

"Sorry, accidentally leaked. Don't tell the guy, yeah." Shino cupped both arms.

I'm grateful that Shino's curse has flaws. All the information about the ghost village seemed to be unable to read.

***

During my time at Subarashii High School I was very happy. Although my nature is very shy, but my classmates have no problem. They did not insult me, and always treated me equally. I even started to be good friends with Nana and Giana. My shame towards people slowly began to erode. I became grateful to have a curse, because that way, I could meet them.

However, I was too naive, this curse after all was a problem. I was too careless to let this curse get active too often.

At the top, I caused a big problem. I made a teacher so angry that he wouldn't teach my class anymore.

I feel so guilty. My existence turned out to be very troublesome. This curse is really dangerous.

My friends used to pass out a lot. They were never angry because they were good children, but in retrospect, this curse had already troubled them. I can't make them experience this continuously.

If I leave, no one will faint again, right? No one will be harmed anymore, right?

I began to think that the curse I had received was the recompense of a great sin I had committed in the past.

My existence now will only make others miserable.

Sorry Ruri-san, it seems like I am indeed unworthy to live in this beautiful world.